Ad costs are rising as more businesses get into online advertising.
This year, I’m exploring a new strategy to get more leads using a free PDF – also known as a lead magnet.
Lead magnets are basically what you give to people in exchange for their contact.
It doesn’t have to be a PDF.
It can be a short training video, a tool, a worksheet, anything that adds value to your target audience.
I’m not an expert in using lead magnets to get customers yet.
But based on my past years of unsuccessful attempts in doing so
I know how to do it right this time.
In fact, I’ve been running ads to download my free PDF since Dec 2023.
Till date, I’ve gotten 260 leads at just $4 per lead, and some of these leads have already become my customers buying my products and training.
Why use lead magnets instead of creating a killer offer to get customers straight?
For the longest time, I’ve been putting out killer offers to get customers for myself and clients.
But this time, I want to start using lead magnets to get more leads for a simple reason:
It’s much easier to get someone to opt-in to become a lead.
That means cost per lead is much cheaper.
However, if you’ve been reading my letters…
I always mention that getting leads doesn’t mean anything for your business if they don’t become paying customers.
So how can we turn these leads to become customers?
You nurture them.
Through your content.
For me, it’s through writing emails.
So here’s the brief flow of a lead magnet funnel:
Traffic -> opt-in page -> they join your email list -> nurture/follow-up -> sale
This means that the lead magnet funnel is a much longer game compared to selling a direct offer.
What type of lead magnet to create?
Understanding the flow is easy, but the tricky part is knowing what type of lead magnet to create.
Essentially, your lead magnet should help your target audience know WHAT to do to achieve their desired outcome, but will work with you to get the HOW.
In the past, I created a lead magnet for a Math tuition centre.
The lead magnet was a set of practice questions and answers for parents to work through with their kids.
I thought I was adding value to them and they will find the materials so good that they will send their kids for tuition.
But I was so wrong.
Even though leads were around $1, I recall only 1 out of the 300 leads sent their kids for class.
Knowing what I know now….
The lead magnet should have been a particular method aimed at helping students achieve better grades instead of just a worksheet to practise.
For my own music school, I’ve also created a PDF before called the Ukulele Beginner Guide to acquire leads who may be interested to join my Ukulele Class.
This PDF is a written guide to help beginners learn the Ukulele, with song sheets, chord diagrams and learning instructions.
But how wrong could I be?
It’s hard to learn how to play music by reading a PDF document.
The lead magnet should have been a short training video on how to play the ukulele using our unique teaching method.
Nurturing these leads to becoming customers
A big part of making this lead magnet method work is that you’ve got to be consistent in pushing out your content (emails, social media) to get them to take action.
For the 2 lead magnets I created above for my music business and the Math tuition centre, I stopped emailing after 1 month when I couldn’t see results.
Truth is, you probably require 3-6 months of nurturing before seeing these leads purchase something from you.
The key is to be consistent in your content.
Like sending weekly emails about your product/service….
Posting about your product/service on your social media.
Then pushing out more call to action content to get them to buy from you.
It’s about being omni-present.
To get your leads to see you everywhere.
Emails, FB/IG, X, Youtube, LinkedIn etc…
But in case you think that that’s the only way to nurture them…
I’ve seen successful lead magnet funnels where instead of collecting just emails, the contact numbers are also being collected.
This allows the businesses to call the leads and follow up accordingly.
A more intensive and direct approach which can be effective if you have the resources to do so.
The thing is, following up consistently is crucial in this game of lead generation.
What tools are needed for this lead magnet method?
1. A landing page (also known as opt-in page or squeeze page) for people to submit their contact:
I use WordPress / Leadpages for this.
2. An email service provider to nurture your leads:
I use ConvertKit.
For my music eCommerce store, I use Drip. It integrates better with my Shopify store.
3. A video hosting service to host your training video (if your lead magnet is a video):
I use Vimeo for large files.
For smaller video files, I upload into Loom and host it there.
4. For downloading PDFs:
I use Google docs to write, then save it as a PDF and share that download link.
If you’ve been getting high cost per lead, maybe it’s time to explore the lead magnet funnel.
Create a lead magnet that brings your prospect closer to their outcome.
Nurture them through your content consistently AND patiently.
Then move them to the next part of your sales process.
This is a longer game that I’m willing to invest time (and money) in.
Because I understand it takes time to build trust.
It’s harder to get people to buy from you right at the start.
As you build your content up, it compounds over time.
As you get more people to opt-in to your email list, you actually own that audience.
And this is a huge asset for your business where you can continue to promote your other product/service.
This is a topic I’ll write about in time to come.
